How to cook chickpeas - Garbanzo Beans

Cooking chickpeas in pressure cooker or on stove top

You
will find easy instructions for How to cook chickpeas below.

White Chickpeas are also known as chana, kabuli chana, garbanzo beans. They are also available in brown and green varieties.
I love chickpeas and use them often in my recipes. You know chickpeas are a good source protein, calcium,
iron and fibers. They contain less sodium (salt) too.

Chickpeas are available - 1. Precooked. 2. Canned. 3. Dried chickpeas

Of course you can buy soaked and precooked chickpeas or the canned chickpeas to use them in
your recipes if you are in a hurry.
But you cannot use the dry chickpeas as and when you want unless you plan in advance. That is, you need to
do the following

You can see dried chickpeas - white, brown and green, in the image below

Kabuli chana - Garbanzo beans

Brown chickpeas

Green chickpeas

Of course you can buy soaked and precooked chickpeas or the canned chickpeas to use them in
your recipes if you are in a hurry.
But you cannot use the dry chickpeas as and when you want unless you plan in advance. That is, you need to
do the following

Preparation before using chickpeas

Soaking time - 8 to 10 hours depending on the variety of chickpea you are using.
Soaking them overnight is better.

Cooking time
Boil for 1-2 hours, depending on the type of chickpea and if you want to cook them very soft or just cooked right. Or Cook in pressure cooker for 8-10 minutes.

But the cooking chickpeas is such a simple process that I like to do it myself. Even if the process is long. So
I prefer to take the third option of buying the dried chickpeas.

The process of soaking and cooking chickpeas
is so simple that it doesn't seem like work at all.
I use chickpeas at least once a week so what I do once every week is:

My Preparation:

wash 1 cup dried chickpeas and put in a bowl.

Add 2 1/2 to 3 cups water. Put the bowl in the fridge. They continue to soak there for a day or
two till I am
ready to cook them. They can remain in the fridge for 3-4 days even if I don't use them immediately.